As stated at the conclusion of yesterday’s post, today’s will further our discussion of horses. I figure the timing of selecting horses as a blog post topic is rather fitting with the recent occurrence of the Kentucky Derby, and I also figure that because they’re such incredible beasts, they deserve some recognition.
When my sister and I were both riding, we had a horse named Dreamer. She was exactly what her name suggests, and I’ll always remember her fondly, as I’m sure my sister also will.
Again, this information comes from spca.bc.ca.
“4. Horses have a nearly 360-degree field of vision. This is due to the positioning of their eyes on the sides of their head. However, they have two blind spots – one directly behind them, and the other directly in-front of their head. This means that they cannot see the grass they are grazing on, or the carrot you are sticking out to them! Instead, they will move their head or use their mobile and sensitive lips, whiskers and sense of smell to know what is in-front of them.
“5. Horses have lightning fast reflexes. As a prey animal, horses need to react quickly should a flight-or-fight situation arise. When they need to fight, horses can go from standing still to delivering a powerful kick in just 0.3 seconds, whereas human reaction time is 1.6 seconds.
“6. Foals can walk and run within a few hours after birth. Foals are relatively mature and mobile from birth. Foals are most vulnerable to predators after birth, so they must be able to flee from danger if necessary.
“7. Horses are highly intelligent animals. They can be taught many different tasks through positive reinforcement and clicker training, just as dogs can. One study showed that horses have the ability to communicate their needs to their guardians; these horses learned to communicate whether they wanted a blanket on or off through touching symbols on a board,” the web page states.
Here’s hoping you’re learning and appreciating these majestic creatures while reading these posts.
Photo by Annika Treial on Unsplash
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